PEST NAME : CONFUSED FLOUR BEETLE (Tribolium confusum)

SIZE, SHAPE AND COLOUR : 3 to 4mm. Uniform red-brown to dark brown. Slim with segments of antennae gradually broader towards tip.

BIOLOGY :  200 eggs laid in foodstuffs. Larvae develop and hatch in 6 to 14 days. 5 to 11 moults over 3 to 9 weeks. Pupae formed and adult hatches in 9 to 17 days. Adults live 15 to 20 months.

PREFERRED FOODS :  Flour, cereal products, grain, oats, rice bran, nuts, dried fruit, spices and chocolate.

HABITAT : Throughout the food industry possibly in any premises handling or storing flour, flour mills, bakeries, silos favoured.